Juneau is here because of gold mining, according to Brian Weed, the co-founder of Juneau’s Hidden History. Pieces of that history are scattered all throughout the Tongass National Forest, where small miners set out to strike it rich during the Alaskan gold rush. Brian and his team of adventurers work to preserve that history through photos.
He has found over 300 small mine tunnels by following data collected by Earl Redmon and plans to publish a book telling the story of the small-time miners who made up Juneau, Alaska.
Brian’s interest in mine tunnels began at the age of 12, when the Treadwell Mine served as his playground. That passion, merged with his love for hiking, helped spark the idea for the Juneau’s Hidden History Facebook group. The group spends their free time exploring the vast wilderness of southeast Alaska in search of remnants of the past.
Video: Kaysie Ellingson
Kaysie Ellingson got her start as a video producer while attending the University of Southern California for her Master’s Degree in journalism. What started out as a pursuit to become an international reporter for papers became a desire to produce documentaries.While at USC she took on many video projects ranging from various freelancing gigs to starting a web series, ClefCity, where viewers could catch interviews with popular (not mainstream) musicians. But it was her work at IMPACT, the university’s video newsmagazine, that had the heaviest hand in propelling her into video production. She graduated in May 2014 and having never been to Alaska, moved up in the winter of 2015 to work at Alaska Public Media as a video producer.One random bit of information is that prior to graduate school Ellingson worked as a Peace Corps volunteer teaching English in Kazakhstan. Some of her fondest memories involve drinking fermented horse milk, testing out how many people can actually fit into a car and of course entertaining her students with her horrible Kazakh speaking skills. She hopes to return someday soon. In the meantime she is enjoying the similar climate of Alaska.Kellingson (at) alaskapublic (dot) org | 907.550.8419 | About Kaysie
